Big Ten Network

[Rich Griffis]

OK, I am now officially ticked off. The Spartans tip-off against Wisconsin-Green Bay in about a half hour -- on my day off -- and I can watch the game because it is on the Big Ten Network and lousy Comcast still isn't carrying the channel.

I called Comcast today and got the standard run around about how they are "in negotiations" to add the channel and the guy babbled on about how Comcast is looking out for its subscribers and not "forcing" another channel on us that only a minority of sports fans want.

HEY COMCAST, HERE'S A TIP: In the Midwest, MOST sports fans want to watch Big Ten sports! If you are looking for a channel that is "forced" on me to cut, start with all the QVC, HSC, etc. shopping channels, and don't forget to grab Lifetime on your way out the door.

End of rant (for now any way)

Any way, I am now giving serious thought to switching to DirecTV, but I have two questions:
1. Is the Big Ten Network worth it? I mean other than a few men's basketball games, is there anything worthwhile on the channel?
2. If I drop Comcast, what is my best option for broadband internet service? (Note: I only use a cell phone, so I don't have a landline. Is that required for DSL service? Would I have to pay for a basic landline and then add DSL?)

 

[wickedwritah]

You don't need a land line for DSL, but your local phone company may require it. You also can get DSL through third-party vendors, not just the phone company.

And I side with Comcast on BTN. They want the channel put on basic and won't accept for anything else. And they want something like $2 per month per subscriber, even in markets (hello, Boston) where the Big Ten is pretty irrelevant.

 

[old_tony]

Well, Rich, there's also football season to consider. I saw a lot of games this fall my neighbors didn't see.

That being said, I've had DirecTV the 10 years I've lived in this house but I still don't blame cable.

The channels you list that you don't care about aren't charging anywhere near what the Big Ten Network is trying to charge. The NFL Network tried the same thing and look at what they've been forced to do this weekend.

 

[Rich Griffis]

From The Big Ten Network website:
Q: So, how much does the network cost?
A: About a dollar within the Big Ten's eight states, and about a dime everywhere else. Overall, the Big Ten Network's national average price to cable companies is about 30 cents. According to research by SNL Kagan, the Big Ten Network's in-market rate of under $1 is less expensive than 29 regional sports networks.

Now I know both Comcast and the Big Ten Network and doing a bunch of spinning, trying to present their side in the best light, but those prices seem about the norm, at least compared to previous stories I have read before BTN was even thought of.

Outside of Big Ten Country, I can see putting it on the Sports Tier (which is another ripoff, $6.99 for the NFL Network packaged with a bunch of crap nobody watches anyway), but tell me how this channel is any different than other regional sports channels? They are always on basic cable.

 

[wickedwritah]

Regional sports networks often are owned (at least in part) or controlled by the cable company. See Comcast Sports Net's many operations. The $1-per-subscriber charge is kind of window dressing.

 

[GB-Hack]

As it says, $1 per sub in the midwest, 10 cents everywhere else. It's a nice way to bring the average price down so you can say it costs less than regional sports networks. Even the NFL only wants 70c, while normal basic cable channels like CNN and Fox News are down at 35c.

 

[slappy4428]

It's hard to root for a winner in this fight -- Comcast and BTN are both greedy bastards

 

[JBHawkEye]

Mediacom, our big cable provider, used the subscription price the Big Ten Network is charging as one of its reasons for not adding the channel to expanded basic. "People don't want to see their rates go up $1.10 per month," they said.

Last month we were notified that the price of expanded basic was going up $3 per month. Without adding the Big Ten Network.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

HEY COMCAST, HERE'S A TIP: In the Midwest, MOST sports fans want to watch Big Ten sports! If you are looking for a channel that is "forced" on me to cut, start with all the QVC, HSC, etc. shopping channels, and don't forget to grab Lifetime on your way out the door.

That may be a good argument, except that in most of the country, QVC and the shopping channels will outsell BTN by far.

 

[markvid]

A few people I talked to at one of the Big Ten schools said that particular university's administration is looking for an out to the network and they are not alone. They realize it's a failure and are looking to ESPN to syndicate football and basketball again. The BTN should be gone after end of the men's hoops tourney.

 

[wickedwritah]

A few people I talked to at one of the Big Ten schools said that particular university's administration is looking for an out to the network and they are not alone. They realize it's a failure and are looking to ESPN to syndicate football and basketball again. The BTN should be gone after end of the men's hoops tourney.

Same thing is happening with theMTN out west.

From Wikipedia:
On June 1, 2007, the presidents of Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, unsatisfied with the current distribution, issued a joint press release that they "retained a sports broadcasting attorney to explore all possible options in improving the distribution of athletic broadcasts to their fans". [1]

On June 5, 2007 the MWC Board "reaffirmed its unanimous support of the league's television model and its commitment to working collectively as a unified group", and its Directors unanimously voted to join BYU and Utah to retain the attorney they had hired.[2]

In an interview with KUTV, President Michael K. Young of Utah stated that "Every [MWC member] knows...President Samuelson and I have been clear about this for the last year and a half that it is absolutely essential that we get on satellite to make our games available to our fans. Anything short of that is unacceptable." He then added that "We are passionately committed to our having our football games being on TV this year."[3]

 

[JBHawkEye]

The smartest thing for the BTN to do now is get on the sports digital tiers of the Big Cable providers. Caving in to the big providers and making an effort to make this work would be better than dropping it after one year.

 

[markvid]

They don't make the money they want by being on the digital tiers.
ESPN makes sure that ESPN and ESPN2 are on basic. They need the money.
ESPNews is usually on digital because they care less. No rights fees, and their product is cheap to produce.
Big Ten Network is doing things cheaper than normal on live remotes, but the fact remains, they have both studio and remotes to deal with.

 

[wickedwritah]

And ad rates are much less on a digital tier.

 

[playthrough]

BTN is nothing special. I'll dial it up when my alma mater is playing, but as a channel it's not something I include among my random clicks when bored.

I was surprised the other day to be at my uncle's house and see BTN on, showing Mich-App. St. on rerun as one of their "classics" from this season. Even though it was nice for them to have that upset on their channel, isn't it kind of bad for business overall when a Big Ten school gets embarrassed in a non-conference game?

 

[Bubbler]

Big Ten Network makes Leni Reifenstahl look objective and balanced with their non-stop propoganda.

You see these testimonials by Big Ten coaches during "commercial" breaks (with virtually no paid commercials) that look like they were taped at gunpoint.

The broadcasts are amateurish because the Big Ten Network went cheap on analysts and just hired whoever happened to be local ... not that much different from the old Raycom days. I know I'm going to get objectivity when Kenny Battle is doing color for an Illinois game. :

It's useful to me for only one reason ... I've seen a lot of games that gave me a frame of reference for my beat. But now that I'm in conference play, that doesn't mean ****.

It's a lamentable, cynical exercise in money-grubbing. And ****tily-executed one at that. Big Ten Network can't die soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ondeadline]

On Dish Network, I not only get the Big Ten Network, but several BTN alternate channels. Sometimes I'll have several BTN game offerings.

 

[BigRed]

Big Ten Network makes Leni Reifenstahl look objective and balanced with their non-stop propoganda.

You see these testimonials by Big Ten coaches during "commercial" breaks (with virtually no paid commercials) that look like they were taped at gunpoint.

The broadcasts are amateurish because the Big Ten Network went cheap on analysts and just hired whoever happened to be local ... not that much different from the old Raycom days. I know I'm going to get objectivity when Kenny Battle is doing color for an Illinois game. :

It's useful to me for only one reason ... I've seen a lot of games that gave me a frame of reference for my beat. But now that I'm in conference play, that doesn't mean ****.

It's a lamentable, cynical exercise in money-grubbing. And ****tily-executed one at that. Big Ten Network can't die soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

Call YOUR cable provider today and tell them YOU want the Big 10 Network!
Living in the South as a Big 10 alum, I'm happy to have it on my DirecTV because it means I don't have to pay $200 per year for the ESPN GamePlan and Full Court packages to see all the regional games I got used to seeing in God's country.
But I'm sure as hell not tuning in for "Big 10 Tonight" or Iowa-Northwestern field hockey.

 

[leo1]

BTN is nothing special. I'll dial it up when my alma mater is playing, but as a channel it's not something I include among my random clicks when bored.

I was surprised the other day to be at my uncle's house and see BTN on, showing Mich-App. St. on rerun as one of their "classics" from this season. Even though it was nice for them to have that upset on their channel, isn't it kind of bad for business overall when a Big Ten school gets embarrassed in a non-conference game?

i agree. i live in fort lauderdale and i get it. at first it seemed fascinating to watch a women's soccer game in HD. but that thrill lasted about seven minutes. i checked it every saturday to see which game is airing - i think the illinois upset over ohio state was on the BTN, but i'm not sure - and that's it. maybe once the conference season starts it'll have a men's basketball game every night, which would make it worthwhile. i was hoping for hockey coverage of the big ten teams (i know there's no big ten hockey league but i thought when starting it up they planned on showing hockey involving big ten teams) but i haven't noticed them airing any hockey so far.

 

[wickedwritah]

i was hoping for hockey coverage of the big ten teams (i know there's no big ten hockey league but i thought when starting it up they planned on showing hockey involving big ten teams) but i haven't noticed them airing any hockey so far.

They are far down in the pecking order for hockey -- they have to wait for whomever has CCHA/WCHA packages, the CSTV national packages to pick first, probably. I just checked the network's Web site and it does say they are airing games such as St. Cloud at Minnesota on Jan. 11 and Michigan State at Ohio State on Jan. 18.